Marry me
by Andra-ggfan
Summary: Jess asks and Rory takes her time answering. But he'll have his revenge and make her work for the ring. Literati fluff.Hope you enjoy.


**A/N: Am bored and studying is putting me in a bad mood so I decided to write some more Literati fluff because, well, why not? They live together in New York and that's pretty much it. Thanks go to my amazing beta, live4ska, as well as a million apologies for being a huge idiot. I'm really, really sorry. **

**Enjoy!**

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"Marry me."

Jess whispered softly, his breath hitched, waiting for her reply.

Rory turned around, pulling the sheets tighter around her body and looking him straight in the eyes.

"What?"

"Marry me?

"Jess…I…are you serious?" She questioned him again, running her hand through her hair.

"Yes. I mean I don't have a ring yet or anything but …I love you, Ror." He took her hand in his and kissed her palm gently before he continued. "You're smart, beautiful and for some unknown reason still waste your time with me. I'll never understand why, but I do know how lucky I am that you chose me. I want you to be the one I come home to every night and I want to spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy. So, what do you say?"

Rory bit her lower lip, trying to stop the tears rolling down her face.

"Are they good or bad tears?" Jess asked, wiping her face.

"Good." She nodded, suddenly attacking his mouth with hers while letting her hands get tangled in his hair. When she pulled back, she smiled, brushing his lips with her thumb.

"If you don't want to get married, it's ok. I mean we haven't really talked about it before and I don't intend this to be an 'it's either marriage or we break up' ultimatum so…"

"Yes." She said, not waiting for him to finish.

"What?"

"Yes."

"Yes as in…?"

"Yes, as in of course I'll marry you!"

Jess smiled and crushed his mouth to hers, cupping her face in his free hand. When he pulled back, he laid back on the bed and Rory rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arm tightly around him. He kissed the top of her had, both of them smiling madly.

"When did you get this cheesy?" She teased, kissing his chest.

"Hey, if there's one time when a man is allowed to be cheesy is when he's proposing to the woman he loves. Don't get used to it." She let out a small giggle, hugging him tighter.

"You know this means you'll have to wear a tux, right?"

"There's no way you'll let me get away with just a suit, is there?"

"I'd say the chances are slim to none."

"I'll just have to pretend I'm James Bond then."

She smiled and moved up, kissing him. Jess pulled the sheets higher up her body, trying to shield her from the cold. Rory blushed, remembering her outfit, or rather lack of one.

"Could you not have waited until we were out of bed? Or at least until I had some clothes on? How exactly am I supposed to tell my grandmother that we were in bed naked, when you proposed?"

Jess chuckled. "I'd skip over that. Just say we were reading or something. She doesn't need more ammo to convince the world that I am completely unsuitable for you."

"And yet…we're getting married." She seemed to realize for the first time and a grin spread over her face. Jess lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her.

"Yes, we are."

"I love you, Jess…I just love you so much…"

Smiling, he flipped their bodies around and kissed her gently. "Love you too."

* * *

A few days, a visit to Stars Hollow and many phone calls later, Rory walked in their house, dropping her purse and coat in the hallway. She moved to the kitchen, getting ready to turn the coffee machine on when she spotted a post-it on her favorite mug. She picked it up and smiled seeing Jess' handwriting.

_I got you a ring. But seeing how you made me wait for your answer with all those questions (and go through hell's fire but that's another thing), I am going to make you work for it. Ready for the first hint?_

_He only has nice things to say about you. Remember, this is a game but, unlike his Winner, you won't Take Nothing. _

Rory walked to the bookshelf, looking on his side, a distinction she had made early on, not wanting to make her books have to deal with Hemingway. She picked the copy of _Winner Take Nothing_ and opened it. A post-it was stuck to the first page.

_Will you read it now? …Yeah, didn't think so. Appropriately enough, Lane compared us to an old married couple when we were talking about this movie (I don't know why I remember that, either). It should always be Indian food if you're going to have to watch Kate Hudson commit suicide again._

Sticking this note in her pocket, next to the first one, she went to their DVD shelf, getting _Almost Famous _and opened the case, finding another post-it.

_I think I might be making this too easy. How about you go in a different room? What's the most clichéd place I could stash a ring?_

Laughing, she opened the bedroom door, hoping to find him there but she only saw the empty room so she opened their communal sock drawer (after all, she had argued, why would they need to take up two drawers?), where another note was waiting for her.

_It's not here either. I wonder where it could be. Did you check all your books? Maybe Esther Greenwood has it? Or maybe I threw it from the roof, like she did with her clothes._

Closing the drawer behind her, Rory walked back to the living room and opened _The Bell Jar_ only to find another note.

_On second thought, there's no way I could hide a ring in a book, is there? And no, I don't know why I picked this book either. Maybe because she went to Yale like you? Why do I have a feeling you're starting to get annoyed? Don't worry, there's not much left and remember I love you. Yes, now you have it in writing and you may use it for blackmailing purposes._

_How can you be a 'proper' wife if you don't know how to cook? First lesson: identify all the ingredients. Find the rice. _

Smiling again she walked to the kitchen and opened a few cupboards, until she found a post it stuck to a bag. She picked it up.

_This one is sugar. Random guessing, Rory? Keep on looking, but not in this cupboard._

Putting the bag down, she opened another cupboard and saw a bag labeled "Rice". On the back, she found her note.

_Good job! I think you'll make a great wife even without knowing how to cook. I don't want to die of food poisoning while you attempt to make a meal that wasn't originally in a box, bag or take-away container. And…I enjoy cooking for you. _

_Ok, I might have just given you too much material to hold over my head for the next twenty years. What have you done to me? Admitting such things in writing? My hoodlum friends will never accept me as one of their own again. _

_I think it's time to end the game before I write down something even more embarrassing. What's the other clichéd place to hide a ring?_

_Yes, it is in my coat pocket. I didn't want you to find it. Unfortunately, it's the coat I have on today so you'll have to find me. Just one hint for this one:_

_Many years ago, on a spring morning you came to me in this place, because I hadn't said goodbye. I don't plan on ever saying goodbye. You might just be stuck with me forever. That bench is still in its place, as you enjoy pointing out every time we go there. Your ring and I will be waiting, unless you've changed your mind._

_I hope you haven't. _

Taking the last note with her, Rory wrapped her coat around her and took her keys, hurrying towards Washington Square Park. She made a mental note to thank her grandparents again for their generosity in paying for the small apartment they now shared in the city. Sure, it had been a struggle convincing Jess accept to live there but in the end it was worth it, even if only for this moment. Some time later, she got to the park and rushed to their bench, finding him sitting there, trying to read a book. When he saw her, he stood up, waiting for her to get closer. Finally she reached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him.

"You…you're a jerk!"

Jess cupped her face and kissed her, smiling. "I know. Now what do you say we make this official?"

Rory looked at him, not knowing what he meant but saw him let go of her face and pull a ring out of his pocket. Kneeling down slowly, he took her hand and smiled.

"Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?"


End file.
